Meet a Traveler Monday – with Breakaway Backpacker

22 Jul Meet a Traveler Monday – with Breakaway Backpacker

Meet Jamie from Breakaway Backpacker

The who are you ?’s

1. Who are you and where do you hail from?

I am Jaime and was born and raised in Houston, TX!!!

2. What are the pros/cons of solo travel?

The Pros are you get to decide everything you do, from when to where and what. It’s one of the best things because you never have to worry about compromising you just do as you please. The Cons are well sometimes you get tired of planning everything and just wish someone else would plan things for you. You also sometimes wish you had someone else to split cost of things or just have someone to talk to or experience it with you when you are doing something amazing.

3. What jobs did you kick to the curb in order to travel?

I quit a job I hated, I was a customer service representative for a bank. It’s something I enjoyed when I first started it, but after 6 years being in corporate America took its toll on me and knew I had to get out. I was so unhappy and miserable.

4. Explain your website name, where did it come from/how did you come up with it?

My website name is Breakaway Backpacker. I had been struggling for weeks to come up with a name for my blog and then one night while I was asleep woke up and had it “Breakaway Backpacker”. I am a backpacker and am going to breakaway. Plus this way I get to incorporate my obsesion with Kelly Clarkson with my blog. You see she wrote a song called Breakaway that describes basically what each of us is doing and why when we set off to tackle the world or anything new for that matter. My tag line “Take a chance, take a rise, make a change & breakaway…” is directly from her song.

The fun ?’s

1. What’s the most under-estimated country & why?

Nicaragua because it’s not a country most people think of when vacationing. It’s not a country with a marquee attraction, but has so much to offer. You have amazing food, amazing natural sites, many nice cities and on top of it a very interesting history.

I sacrificed many things in order to save enough money for my two year trip around the world. I didn’t shop for new clothes for over a year. I stopped going out but once a week, yes once every 7 days. I made sure my friends knew about my rule and I stuck to it, I missed many things but was all worth it in the end.

4. What country has the best $1usd menu? What can one expect to get for $1usd?

Egypt has the best $1usd with a $1 you can buy many amazing foods. You can buy a huge bowl of Koshari, or pasta with meats or all types of salads to put in sandwiches and of course lets not forget the falafel.

Quick & Dirty (1-2 word answers)

1. Favorite beach

A tie between: the beaches near Playa del Carmen, Mexico, the beaches on the island of Koh Tao, Thailand and the beaches of El Nido, Philippines.

2. #1 must have travel items

Laptop, it’s my connection to the rest of the world. I use it as my phone, my guidebook, my everything.

3. Zip-off pants or no zip-off pants

NO ZIP OFF… don’t look stupid.

4. Favorite beer

I love beer & seriously drink just about all of them. I don’t discriminate alcohol is alcohol.